Terms and Definitions in the U.S. Legislative Process, Quizzes of Political Science

Download Terms and Definitions in the U.S. Legislative Process and more Quizzes Political Science in PDF only on Docsity! TERM 1 Bicameral Legislature DEFINITION 1 A legislature divided into two houses; the U.S. Congress and the state legislatures are bicameral except Nebraska, which is unicameral TERM 2 Apportionment DEFINITION 2 The process of allotting congressional seats to each state following the decennial census according to their proportion of the population TERM 3 Redistricting DEFINITION 3 The redrawing of congressional districts to reflect increases or decreases in seats allotted to the states, as well as population shifts within a state TERM 4 Bill DEFINITION 4 A proposed law TERM 5 Impeachment DEFINITION 5 The power delegated to the House of Representatives in the Constitution to charge the president, vice president, or other "civil officers," including federal judges, with "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." This is the first step in the constitutional process of removing such government officials from office TERM 6 Majority Party DEFINITION 6 The political party in each house of Congress with the most members TERM 7 Minority Party DEFINITION 7 The political party in each house of Congress with the second most members TERM 8 Speaker of the House DEFINITION 8 The only officer of the House of Representatives specifically mentioned in the Constitution; elected at the beginning of each new Congress by the entire House; traditionally a member of the majority party TERM 9 Party Caucus or Conference DEFINITION 9 A formal gathering of all party members TERM 10 Majority Leader DEFINITION 10 The elected leader of the party controlling the most seats in the House of Representatives or the Senate; is second in authority to the Speaker of the House and in the Senate is regarded as its most powerful member TERM 21 Seniority DEFINITION 21 Time of continuous service on a committe TERM 22 Incumbency DEFINITION 22 The fact that being in office helps a person stay in office because of a variety of benefits that go with the position TERM 23 Trustee DEFINITION 23 Role played by elected representatives who listen to constituents' opinions and then use their best judgment to make final decisions TERM 24 Delegate DEFINITION 24 Role played by elected representatives who vote the way their constituents would want them to, regardless of their own opinions TERM 25 Politico DEFINITION 25 Role played by elected representatives who act as trustees or as delegates, depending on the issue TERM 26 Divided Government DEFINITION 26 The political condition in which different political parties control the White House and Congress TERM 27 Logrolling DEFINITION 27 Vote trading, voting yea to support a colleague's bill in return for a promise of future support TERM 28 Markup DEFINITION 28 A process in which committee members offer changes to a bill before it goes to the floor in either house for a vote TERM 29 Hold DEFINITION 29 A tactic by which a senator asks to be informed before a particular bill is brought to the floor. This allows the senator to stop the bill from coming to the floor until the hold is removed. TERM 30 Filibuster DEFINITION 30 A formal way of halting action on a bill by means of long speeches or unlimited debate in the Senate TERM 31 Cloture DEFINITION 31 Mechanism requiring sixty senators to vote to cut off debate TERM 32 Veto DEFINITION 32 Formal constitutional authority of the president to reject bills passed by both houses of the legislative body, thus preventing the bill from becoming law without further congressional activity. TERM 33 Pocket Veto DEFINITION 33 If Congress adjourns during the ten days the president has to consider a bill passed by both houses of Congress, without the president's signature TERM 34 Oversight DEFINITION 34 Congressional review of the activities of an agency, department, or office TERM 35 Congressional Review DEFINITION 35 A process whereby Congress can nullify agency regulations by a joint resolution of legislative disapproval